


Virus [Rewrite]

by driftingashes



Series: Story Rewrites [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Coding, Computer Programming, Computers, Gen, Grief/Mourning, I'm Sorry, Rewrite, Sad, Sad Ending, Software AU, based on a tumblr blog, based on another work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:42:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24751030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/driftingashes/pseuds/driftingashes
Summary: Virgil opened his mouth to scream, only to find he was no longer corporeal. With one final desperate lunge, he managed to delete the corrupted computer code. The virus dissipated with a screeching cry. Virgil smiled, wiping blood from his chin as he faded further away.This was inspired by a different work, and this is actually an alternate ending to that fic by fanboysstillexist here on Ao3!
Relationships: Platonic LAMP/CALM
Series: Story Rewrites [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1839496
Kudos: 28





	Virus [Rewrite]

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [In Which Virgil Made a Mistake](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22248412) by [fanboysstillexist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanboysstillexist/pseuds/fanboysstillexist). 



> Intead of sticking with the canon of both the actual software AU over on tumblr and the fic that inspired this, I put my own twist on the AU. This is a rewrite of my original alt end to the fic by fanboysstillexist. Enjoy!!

Virgil heard Logan yell his name seconds before the sirens went off. "Virgil!"

"Where is it?" Virgil demanded, already tensing up for a battle.

Logan pointed wordlessly, chest heaving. His legs, which twirled down to pixelated mist, swished in distress. "It has Patton cornered. The virus."

Virgil hissed low in his throat. "Show me. Now."

Logan took off, Virgil hot on his heels. Roman joined them at some point, but Virgil was too focused on finding the virus to greet him. "There!" Logan said, pulling up sharply. Virgil swerved around him.

Instinct took over, and Virgil sped towards his friend. "Pat, move!"

Virgil slammed into him just as the virus surged forward. The file folder it had just plowed through glitched and folded in on itself. _Fuck._

"Virgil!" Roman yelled.

Virgil glanced at them. "Get out of here!" he called back, waving his arms to shoot them away. "It's not safe!" His attention was back on the virus before he finished speaking, but he saw Logan herding the others away out of the corner of his vision.

He screamed as the virus grazed him, part of his body dissolving for a moment in a shower of static. He saw Patton try to lunge back at him, but Logan and Roman quickly bolted, dragging a screeching Patton with them.

If he could find the code that had been tweaked or corrupted and delete it then he could stop the virus. Until then, he was powerless to do anything but try to hide files from its path as much as possible. He was supposed to be good at stopping these kind of things! It was his primary function as a program specifically created for virus protection. He could do this.

He strained his eyes for any part of the code that seemed out of place, but there was nothing standing out. Wait...there!

The virus ripped through him again, and his form glitched worse than it had when he had tried eating a cookie. His entire program froze. Shit. No…no no no. This wasn't supposed to happen. Virgil tried to open his mouth to scream, only to find he was no longer corporeal. With one final desperate lunge, he managed to delete the corrupted computer code. The virus dissipated with a screeching cry. Virgil smiled, wiping blood from his chin as he faded further away.

Wait...faded? And he was bleeding? He didn't know he could bleed. He would have to tell Thomas about it later. But he was...tired. He was so, so tired.

"Virgil?" he heard a tentative voice whisper.

"Right here," he croaked, clearing his throat. "It's safe now."

"Virgil? Virgil!"

The voice was clearer now, closer, and he could distinguish the voices of two separate programs. Logan and Patton. "Virgil…?" That was Logan.

"Virge!" Patton, probably right on Logan's heels. Where was-

"Virgil!" Roman! Funny, he couldn't see anything anymore. But he'd know their voices anywhere, the voices that soothed him at night and sung Disney songs early in the morning, weaving between folders and apps, that cheerily laughed during games and movies and cried together when a memory was lost.

Where was that static coming from? It was annoying. Maybe Thomas had left an app open. He did forget to close his tabs every once in a while.

A heartbroken wail from behind him made him spin in place. "Patton? Patton, what happened?" He tried moving towards the voice, but he couldn't move his form anymore, something that should have made him feel much more concerned ( ~~panicked~~ ) than it did. Instead, he just felt calm.

"No! No, you're lying!" Patton screamed somewhere beyond the inky darkness and ever growing static. Where was it coming from? He should tell Thomas to close his browser tabs. "Please, we have to find him!"

"Patton...he's gone. A virus that destructive... There's nothing left for us to find." Roman sounded choked, like he was about to cry.

Virgil was dissolving into nothing again. _Oh,_ he realized. _The virus managed to…the others are safe? Others safe. Good. Code deleted. Reset? Patton. Patton's safe. Roman is sad? Not good. Maybe hug him?_

He could see again! There were the others, all huddled together and staring at a fading logo - Virgil's program files. He didn't need them anymore.

"I want Virgil back," Patton whispered. He shrugged Logan's hand from his shoulder when the other tried to comfort him.

Virgil reached for them with one transparent arm, silently pleading with them to see him. "I'm right here...please. Please, can't you see me?" He could feel again,at least. Or maybe that was bad. This back and forth between fear and numb terror and emotional overload and _nothing_ was agonizing.

Maybe the emotional overload was why he was glitching so badly. (Or maybe he was just saying, fading away, Thomas didn't need him anymore, it was okay) Either way, it hurt. And then it didn't.

"Be at peace, Virgil," Logan whispered, and the last tie was cut loose. Virgil was floating. He kept his arm outstretched towards his friends, praying til the last moment that they'd look up and see him.

"I love y-

...deleting program...

**Author's Note:**

> LOL I still know virtually nothing about computer coding, but have a much better grasp on it than when so originally wrote this fic. Passed a coding class, so that helps. Anygays, hope you enjoyed the rewrite. I feel like my writing has improved a bit, but I already actually really like the original version of this anyways. Just thought I'd try improving it a bit for comparison.


End file.
